A Thanksgiving to Remember
by ballerinagrl1003
Summary: *FINAL CHAPTER UP* They thought that Thanksgiving was going to be normal as always, but then something terrible happens that will affect the friends forever...*this is my first fanfic, so please be nice and R&R!*
1. Default Chapter

A/n: This is my first fanfic, so please be nice to me! I hope you like it, please r&r.  
  
Setting: Rachel and Ross have Emma and are not together but live together. Monica and Chandler are married, and Joey and Phoebe are engaged. Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe still live in the same places. Rachel and Ross live in the Bronx.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Friends. The brilliant executives at NBC do.  
  
Chapter 1: Something's Wrong  
  
"Mmmm, the food smells terrific, Mon," Phoebe said.  
  
"Can we eat now, please? Please please please please please???" Joey whined.  
  
"No! Not until Ross, Rachel, and Emma get here," Monica scolded. "They should be here in just a little while. They called about a half hour ago and said they were on their way." Ross and Rachel had an apartment in the Bronx. Monica and Chandler still lived in their Manhattan apartment, and the engaged Joey and Phoebe lived across the hall.  
  
"Aww, you're no fun," Joey pouted. He sat down on the couch next to Phoebe and crossed his arms. Phoebe laughed and kissed him on top of his head.  
  
"Sweetie, are you alright in there?" Monica called to Chandler, who was still in the bathroom. "You've been in there for quite a while."  
  
"Uh, yeah, I'm just fine. I just finished showering, so I'll be out in a few minutes," he replied. He was feeling a bit faint, but he decided not to tell Monica. She was already stressed enough with the preparation of their Thanksgiving dinner, and he didn't want to worry her. He turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water onto his face to try to wake himself up. He told himself that he was probably just tired from the flight from Tulsa. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way into the kitchen.  
  
"Ooh, honey, that turkey smells awesome," he said as he walked over to Monica. He hugged her playfully and kissed her on the cheek as she took the turkey out of the oven and continued to prepare their meal.  
  
Just then, Ross and Rachel, who was carrying Emma, walked into the apartment. "Hey everyone!" they shouted.  
  
"Hi guys!" Monica yelled. "Awww, how adorable! Let me see my favorite niece!" She completely ignored the turkey and rushed over to see Emma, who was fast asleep.  
  
Chandler laughed. "Sure, Mon, ignore the turkey so you can go see the baby," he said. "Fine, fine, I'll just carve it myself."  
  
He walked over to the counter and began carving the turkey. Joey and Phoebe rose from the couch and fawned over Emma for a bit while Ross and Rachel got settled in.  
  
"Okay, everyone, the food is all set!" Monica called.  
  
"Yeah, it's time to sit down and eat," Chandler said.  
  
Everyone sat down to the table and began to prepare for the enormous feast. Monica set out the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, squash, and corn. Joey immediately grabbed the closest plate and served himself.  
  
They all laughed. "Typical Joey," Monica giggled.  
  
Just as everyone was serving themselves, Chandler felt dizzier than ever. His heart began to pound, and sweat poured down his forehead and cheeks. Suddenly, his right arm went numb. An explosion of sharp pain filled his chest, and he clutched at his throat. Gasping, he collapsed on the floor, grimacing in agony.  
  
"Oh my god, are you alright Chandler?" Monica called, leaping up from her chair. She threw down her napkin and rushed to his side.  
  
He turned to her with a horrible look on his face. He managed to whisper, "I.I.I think I'm having a heart attack." His body went limp and he slumped to the floor, unconscious.  
  
Monica screamed. "Chandler! Chandler! Wake up! Wake up! Someone call 911!" Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she picked up his head and cradled his body. "Please, someone help him!"  
  
Ross dashed for the phone and dialed 911 as Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe looked on in horror. "Hello, operator? I need an ambulance here right away! My brother-in-law is having a heart attack!" he shouted into the phone.  
  
Monica sobbed as she continued to talk to Chandler. "Chandler, please wake up, please," she agonized.  
  
Within a few minutes, the sound of sirens filled the air.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/n: Hey again! Did you like it? Next chapter should be up soon.this will be a relatively short little fic. Thanks for reading! 


	2. Riding to the Hospital

Disclaimer: I don't own Friends, I just like the show a lot. Beth Israel Hospital is in New York City. Ben, Chris, Todd, and Dr. Kellogg are mine though.  
  
Chapter 2-Riding to the Hospital  
  
Two paramedics rushed up the stairs and pounded on the door. Rachel quickly opened it, and they knelt beside Chandler, examining him. "You have to save him! You just have to-" Monica began, but she was cut off by one of the paramedics' shouts.  
  
"Ben, I don't have a pulse!" he yelled.  
  
"He's not breathing, Chris!" shouted Ben. They began to pound on his chest, trying to restart his heart. Monica stared in shock and horror as silent tears poured down her cheeks.  
  
Chris grabbed an oxygen mask and stretched the elastic behind Chandler's head. The plastic piece rested over Chandler's mouth and nose, delivering precious gas that would hopefully help to bring him back to consciousness. Ben continued performing CPR compressions with little success as the seconds ticked away and Chandler's body drew further and further from life. Monica grasped Chandler's cold hand, clutching it to her heart. Joey knelt by her side, lovingly wrapped his arm around her, and prayed for his best friend. Rachel and Phoebe embraced each other and softly wept while Ross looked on at the paramedics, praying for some miracle that would bring Chandler back to them.  
  
After nearly five minutes, which seemed like an eternity, Chris shouted, "I've got a pulse!" He looked at his partner and said, "Come on, let's move him down to the ambulance while he's stabilized."  
  
They gently rolled Chandler's motionless body onto a backboard and quickly carried him downstairs to the waiting ambulance, where a third paramedic stood by to drive them to the hospital. Monica and the rest of the gang followed, but only Monica climbed into the ambulance with him. "Only immediate family in the ambulance, please," Ben told them. "Okay, Todd, let's move!" he called to the driver. The doors of the ambulance shut, and they sped down the street towards Beth Israel Hospital.  
  
Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey jumped into Ross's car with Emma in her carrier, and they began to follow the speeding ambulance down the street. The turkey and other delicious food that they had been enjoying moments before sat abandoned on the dinner table.  
  
Back in the ambulance, Chandler's heart was slowly, steadily beating, but his breathing came and went. Monica continued to sob, holding his hand and smoothing his hair over and over, begging him to come back. Ben snatched an oxygen tube and forced it down his throat. He attached a bulb to the end of the tube and instructed Monica to pump the bulb that would feed him oxygen so that he and Chris could work on other things. They ripped his shirt off and attached several electrodes to his smooth, muscular chest. They inserted an IV into the back of his hand to keep him hydrated. Suddenly, the heart monitor alarm began to go off. A flat green line flashed across the screen. "His heart has stopped again!" cried Ben.  
  
Anxiously, Monica pumped his oxygen faster in a frenzied attempt to make him come back to life. Chris grabbed two black paddles and squeezed a gel- like substance across his chest. The paddles were rubbed together and pressed firmly to his chest. "Clear!" shouted Chris.  
  
Chandler's limp body sprang up like a jack-in-the-box and thumped back down on the stretcher. However, the heart monitor remained a flat line.  
  
"Clear!" Chris screamed. Once again, Chandler's body flew up and fell down. His heart remained stopped.  
  
Both Chris and Ben were growing weary. Chris rubbed the paddles' surfaces together again and shouted, "Clear!"  
  
This time, Chandler's body jumped higher than before. The flat line on the monitor lingered for a few seconds, and then it began to bounce in a rhythm. Chandler's heart was beating again! Monica cried tears of relief as the paramedic took over pumping the oxygen. Within a few moments, they arrived at the hospital.  
  
Chandler was rushed into the emergency room. Monica desperately tried to follow him into the trauma room, but doctors, insisting she stay away, shoved her outside. Feeling hopeless, she watched through the window as they tried to revive her husband. She buried her head in her hands as she began to lose hope.  
  
Monica sat in the waiting room as the rest of the gang arrived. "How is he? Do we know anything yet?" they all asked her.  
  
Just then, a doctor in a plastic gown came over to them. "Mrs. Bing?" he inquired.  
  
"That's me," she said, rising quickly. "How is he? Is Chandler alright? Will he be alright? Please, someone tell me!" she cried.  
  
"I'm Dr. Kellogg. Mrs. Bing." he began.  
  
A/n: Chapter 3.Will Chandler be alright? Find out what happened to him in the next chapter! Coming soon! 


	3. The Waiting Game

A/n: Thanks for all the reviews! The chapters are a bit short because due to time constraints, this will be a short fic. I know the last chapter was kind of focused on the medical side, but I've been on winter break and I watch ER in the morning!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Friends. The brilliant executives at NBC do.  
  
Chapter 3-The Waiting Game  
  
"Mrs. Bing, Chandler had a massive heart attack," Dr. Kellogg began. "One of the main valves in his heart will need to be replaced by surgical means. Do you remember in the ambulance how he stopped breathing for a while?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, of course. What about it?" Monica replied.  
  
"When your husband stopped breathing, his brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes. This may have caused some brain damage," he paused, "and we're afraid that he may have slipped into a coma."  
  
"What? You can't be serious! This is my husband! Chandler! He's too young!" she cried. Overcome with emotion, she fell into Ross's arms and buried her face in his chest.  
  
"Isn't there anything we can do, Dr. Kellogg?" Ross asked.  
  
"Chandler is my best friend, and I will not let you give up on him!" Joey shouted menacingly. He began to advance toward the doctor, ready to fight him, but Ross pulled him back.  
  
"Sir, please calm down! We're doing everything we can, but right now we have to bring him into surgery. When he gets out, you can see him and try to make him wake up by talking to him. All we can do now is wait," the doctor replied.  
  
The friends sat down in the cold, uncomfortable waiting room chairs as Dr. Kellogg walked back into the trauma room. A few minutes later, he and the other doctors and nurses wheeled Chandler out of the trauma room and headed toward the elevators to bring him to the surgical floor. Monica leapt up from her chair and rushed to Chandler's side. As she saw his face, she gasped in shock. Her husband's once lively face was ashen and gray. Tubes and wires came out of his body in all directions. His body was completely still, and his eyes were closed. "Chandler," she choked, "can you hear me?"  
  
She picked up his limp hand and stroked her cheek with his palm. A nurse came over to her, pulled Chandler's arm from her grasp, and gently said, "That's enough, now."  
  
Monica gazed longingly at the gurney as the doctors wheeled it into an elevator. The doors closed shut, and her beloved husband disappeared from sight into the care of a team of surgeons. Monica turned and went back to the waiting room. "He's going up to surgery," she told Rachel. "They'll be back down here when he's in the recovery room."  
  
Monica sat down on the bench and looked up at the glaring lights. "Why did this have to happen?" she pondered. "We were supposed to have the perfect Thanksgiving. He came home from Tulsa so we could finally be together and enjoy spending time with you guys. And why did he have a heart attack when he's so young? You're not supposed to worry about heart attacks when you're in your thirties, are you?"  
  
Rachel and Phoebe sat by her side. "Don't worry, Mon. Chandler's a strong guy. He'll be fine with the surgery," said Rachel.  
  
"Sure, he'll pull through the surgery, but they said he'd still be in a coma when he gets out. What if he never wakes up? I can't lose my husband, Rach, I just can't!" Monica cried. She grabbed a magazine and tried to read it, but her frustration and impatience won out. She ripped the pages and threw them all on the floor as tears came once more.  
  
Joey came up to her and offered her a cheeseburger from the cafeteria. "No!" she cried out. "I can't do anything-anything at all-until he comes out of that coma and I know he's going to be okay!"  
  
Glancing up at the clock, Monica stared at the hands. Ten past three. They'd be done eating by now. The football game would have just started. "We should be at our house eating dessert right now, and we're stuck in this hospital," she muttered angrily.  
  
Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, and Ross tried to console her as the hours passed. It was nearly six-thirty when Dr. Kellogg appeared in the doorway. "Mrs. Bing?" he said.  
  
Monica jumped up. "How did the surgery go?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
A smile crept across Dr. Kellogg's face. "Everything went beautifully. As a matter of fact, he is up in recovery right now watching the football game," he told her.  
  
"You mean-he's awake?" Monica said, almost afraid to hear the answer.  
  
"Yes, he is. As soon as the anesthesia wore off, he came to and asked for you," Dr. Kellogg replied. "You may all go to see him now, but don't stay too long."  
  
"I can't thank you enough, Doctor! Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving my husband's life!" Monica shouted. She ran over to the doctor and hugged him enthusiastically. "Come on, guys, let's go see Chandler!"  
  
Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe followed Monica into the elevator. They arrived on the surgical floor and asked a nurse where the recovery room was. "Straight down the hall and take a right at the end," she instructed.  
  
"Thanks!" Monica replied. She dashed ahead of her friends and went straight to Chandler's bedside, where he was watching the Jets against the Vikings. "Hi, honey!" she whispered.  
  
He was lying down. "Hi," he mumbled softly. He couldn't talk very well because his throat was sore from the removal of the oxygen tube. "Am I ok?" he asked.  
  
"You're going to be just fine," she said excitedly.  
  
Dr. Kellogg, Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe entered the room. "I must warn you, there is still a slight chance that he might have minimal brain damage, but it should be nothing serious," Dr. Kellogg cautioned them.  
  
"Hey man, you had us freaking out over here!" Ross said jokingly.  
  
"Dude, don't ever do that to me again!" Joey told Chandler.  
  
Chandler smiled weakly. Rachel and Phoebe hugged him and told him how worried they were. Dr. Kellogg was happy to see them all so relieved, but he said, "Okay, time for you guys to leave now. The man needs his rest."  
  
The gang left the room as Monica kissed Chandler atop his head. "I'll be back later, baby," she said. She followed Dr. Kellogg out of the room and into the hallway.  
  
"We need to monitor him for about a week and a half, but he should be able to go home around December 12th," the doctor told Monica.  
  
"Oh my goodness-thank you, Dr. Kellogg! A million thanks to you!" she exclaimed. She raced downstairs to tell the guys of the great news.  
  
Chapter 4-Chandler's Homecoming-coming soon! Will he be the same Chandler they all know and love? Find out soon! 


	4. Chandler's Homecoming

A/n: Happy New Year! Once again, thank you for all the reviews. I'm sorry to say that this will be the end of the story-I know it's really short, but my winter break is over and I have school tomorrow. =( Hey, that's life. When I find time (always a hard task), I will be adding to this story, maybe adding more detail to it, or writing a new story. I'm a diehard C/M fan, so look for stories about them in the future!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Friends. The brilliant executives at NBC do.  
  
Chapter 4-Chandler's Homecoming  
  
Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe sat on Monica's fluffy white couch watching a movie as they waited for Chandler and Monica to arrive. At three o'clock, they finally heard footsteps out in the hall. The door opened, and in the doorway stood Chandler, who looked the same as he always did. His face was glowing healthily and his cheeks were pink from the cold. Monica followed a moment later, carrying several suitcases. Chandler planned to stay in New York for a few weeks and would return to Tulsa when he was fully recovered-after, of course, some much-needed quality time with his wife.  
  
"You were only in the hospital for a couple weeks! How could you need all this stuff?" Monica groaned. She lugged the heavy suitcases through the door and plopped them beside the counter.  
  
"Well, I needed my Playboy magazines-I mean, my work papers," Chandler laughed.  
  
Monica slapped him playfully on the shoulder. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're home, baby," she whispered.  
  
Everyone ran over to Chandler and started talking to him. "We're so happy you're here, Chandler," Ross told him.  
  
"Yeah, me too!" Joey yelled. "But hey, I never got my Thanksgiving dinner. Can we eat something? I'm starving."  
  
"I'll order a couple pizzas," offered Rachel.  
  
"I'll grab some soda from across the hall," Phoebe said. She walked past Chandler, who was still standing in the doorway, and entered the apartment.  
  
Ross and Joey settled in on the couch as the friends began to prepare for their belated Thanksgiving dinner. Meanwhile, Chandler tried to lift his suitcase so he could bring it into the bedroom. When he tried to grasp the handle, his fingers became stiff, and he could not pick up the bag. He tried and tried again, but his attempts failed. "Mon, what's happening?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"What do you mean?" she said.  
  
"Well, I can't lift my bag up. My fingers just lock," he replied.  
  
"Oh my god-what if it's brain damage like Dr. Kellogg said?" she wondered anxiously.  
  
Just then, though, Chandler stretched his fingers and wiggled them a bit. His joints loosened and he lifted the bag with ease. "Probably just a spasm," he decided.  
  
Monica's concerned face relaxed. She continued to set the table. Phoebe came back with four 2-liter bottles of soda. Chandler sat on the couch with the guys like old times. Just then, the doorbell rang. Rachel answered the door and got the pizza from, as she described it, "the cute pizza guy". Ross muttered under his breath as Rachel gushed about his dreamy eyes. They all sat at the table and began to eat their "Thanksgiving dinner". Most of all, they were thankful that Chandler was alright.  
  
THE END 


End file.
